Yesterday, Chris and I visited the Usher Art Gallery (part of The Collection) in Lincoln, to see "The Moment of Privacy has passed" exhibition. The website has the information below: "Sketchbooks are usually private and personal, a creative space in which thoughts and ideas are noted by artists, architects and designers.
These inspirational first thoughts; embryonic artworks, buildings or products, offer a fascinating insight into the creative process.
The exhibition features sketchbooks from contemporary artists Grayson Perry and Simon Faithful as well as historic sketchbooks from the Usher Gallery’s collections.
The exhibition not only explores the way in which sketchbooks are used but tackles the challenge of exhibiting books; how can we view the pages? In the special ’Library zone’ you will be able to select, take off the shelf and browse through over 200 sketchbooks which have been loaned in response to an open invitation. Sketchbooks have been contributed by artists from all over the country and from the USA and Europe. "
These inspirational first thoughts; embryonic artworks, buildings or products, offer a fascinating insight into the creative process.
The exhibition features sketchbooks from contemporary artists Grayson Perry and Simon Faithful as well as historic sketchbooks from the Usher Gallery’s collections.
The exhibition not only explores the way in which sketchbooks are used but tackles the challenge of exhibiting books; how can we view the pages? In the special ’Library zone’ you will be able to select, take off the shelf and browse through over 200 sketchbooks which have been loaned in response to an open invitation. Sketchbooks have been contributed by artists from all over the country and from the USA and Europe. "
It was fascinating to be able to pick up the sketchbooks and look through them. There was a large variety of styles and standards to be found, from Foundation students, to undergrads, MA students and working artists. There was a lot of Fine Art work and drawing to be seen, and one artist's work I particularly remember is Jill Gibbon, who had contributed a sketchbook filled with fantastic ink drawings of people in a market place in Russia. Each sketch had so much life and conveyed the character of the person with just a few very well placed lines.
As a craftsperson, I would have liked to see more textiles/mixed media/colour in the books, but that is a very personal opinion. I would have liked to see more of Grayson Perry's sketchbook too as it really appealed to me, but it was displayed in a cabinet. However, leafing through the other sketchbooks has inspired me to use my own more often, even if it is just to jot down ideas.
The exhibition runs until 6th March 2011 and I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of hours I spent there.
The very small photo above is from the above website.
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